New U2 Album Has Title, No Rick Rubin Tracks

Of the 50 to 60 songs U2 penned for their new album, none of the tracks the band wrote while under the guidance of producer Rick Rubin will make the final track list, according to the Edge. "We actually laid all that stuff to one side. Really out of deference to Rick and that set of songs we just said, 'OK, that's that,' and we drew a line," said the guitarist. "So none of the Rick material went into this project. Everything has been written subsequently. He gave us great advice as much as anything." The band ended up working with the The Joshua Tree production team of Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois. As for the rumored album title No Line on the Horizon, Edge says "It's an image, Bono tells me. It's like when you're moving forward, but you're not exactly sure what you're heading towards — that moment where the sea and the sky blend into one. It's an image of infinity, I suppose — a kind of Zen image." U2's new album is due out early 2009.

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Song Stories

“Oh Sherrie”

Steve Perry | 1984

Steve Perry's girlfriend Sherrie Swafford was actually in the studio when Perry began writing this song--his lone Top Ten hit as a solo act--with two co-writers. The trio began at midnight one night with just "Oh, Sherrie!" and "hold on, hold on." Three hours later, they had a complete song. Swafford, however, had to wait until the next day to hear it. "Sherrie actually got tired and went to bed," Perry said. She also appeared in the video, but their relationship did not hold on for long.

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